Chapter XXVII

THE APPRENTICE (SOME PRACTICAL INFORMATION).

And now, as a relief to all this gloom and vituperation, I wish to give parents and guardians a few practical hints as to the course they should pursue if their sons or charges insist, as so many do, upon making trial of a sea life. Perhaps it is hardly necessary, after what I have already said, to repeat that the ideal preparation for a lad who is destined to become an officer is a preliminary training on board of either the _Worcester_ or the _Conway_. Here a lad will not only be thoroughly grounded in navigation and such seamanship as can be taught on board a stationary vessel, but he will become familiar with life on shipboard, in itself no small item. And his general education will not be neglected either. In fact, whether a lad is intended for the sea or not, I know of no more profitable place for him to spend a couple of years than on board H.M.S. _Worcester_ or (although I have not the same personal knowledge of the matter) H.M.S. _Conway_.

But there are many estimable people whose incomes will not bear the modest strain put upon them by the fees chargeable in these floating colleges--a much lower fee, by the way, than would be payable at any public boarding-school of repute. It is as much as they can afford to pay a premium of, say, sixty pounds and provide the lad with an outfit. And this last word brings me to a subject that I have often wished to enlarge upon for the benefit of parents sending their sons to sea as apprentices in merchant ships. It is associated in my mind with a great deal of downright robbery, heartless swindling. The Registrar-General of Shipping does his best to warn parents and guardians of the wiles of those landsharks who lurk in our great shipping ports ready to prey upon the unwary, but often his warning does not reach those for whom it was intended. Therefore I would say, beware of all advertisements in the newspapers for sea-apprentices. Remember that no ship-owner of repute needs to advertise for apprentices. If you go to a firm like Messrs. Devitt and Moore, for instance, you will probably, almost certainly, find that they have no vacancies--that if you wish to enter your boy with them you must put his name at the bottom of their list, and he must await his turn.

It will be found almost invariably that these advertisements emanate from shady firms of outfitters, or shadier firms who are nothing at all but blood-suckers--people who can most assuredly do nothing for you but that which, with a very little trouble, you could do much better yourself, and who will mulct you in heavy fees and commissions before you get out of their clutches. And, in addition, be quite sure that you are unlikely to find through such agencies a good ship for your son. You may, but all the chances are dead against it, because, as I have said, firms of repute do not do business in that way. Moreover, in handing yourself over to the apprenticeship-broker, or whatever he calls himself, you will surely be let in for a far heavier expenditure upon outfit than there is any necessity for, and in addition you will surely get an outfit that will not be worth carrying away. I well remember one case in particular, of a young friend of my own, whose outfit cost the modest sum of thirty-five pounds. It was bought from a great firm of outfitters in London that I dare not name, for fear of the law of libel, and would certainly have been dear at one-third of the money. Indeed, I believe I should be justified in saying that it would have been dear at any price, since it was of the veriest shoddy throughout. When my friend showed it to me, or rather what remained of it after a month at sea, I was almost speechless with indignation. I should say that such rubbish must be specially manufactured for such purposes, since I cannot imagine anybody ashore buying such stuff. A pair of sea-boots to reach below the knee was among this precious outfit. Their price was forty-five shillings. Now, a sailor can always get a really good pair of sea-boots for twenty-five shillings--a swagger pair of best make, with high fronts to cover the knees, for thirty-five shillings. The first time my friend put his sea-boots on they naturally got wet, and when he came below, four hours after, they hung in graceful folds about his ankles. As to keeping out water, you might just as well expect a sponge to keep out water. They could be wrung like a piece of flannel. In a word, they were absolutely worthless, and the sale of them was a heartless fraud.

This outfit business requires only a little common sense to be conducted economically. In the Navy a list of articles required for a naval cadet or midshipman is supplied to him, and no deviation therefrom is permitted. But no such hard-and-fast rule obtains in the Merchant Service. Uniform, of course, is compulsory, but beyond that the parent may use his own discretion. In the matter of underclothing, for instance, it may be taken for granted that what the lad already possesses will answer excellently well. Flannels, too, boating or cricketing, come in very useful; in fact, any of his old clothes are good enough to work in. In any case he should not have too large a stock, for however many clothes he may take with him, they will certainly require washing before a long sea passage is over; and too great an accumulation of dirty clothes is, for many reasons, undesirable. If I were asked to draw up a list of the requirements of a lad on his first voyage as apprentice in a southern-going ship, it would be something like this:--

A strongly-made chest, of three-quarter inch pine, dovetailed throughout, and without any iron about it, the lid and bottom very carefully fitted, should first be procured; such a chest as a working carpenter would be willing to make for a pound, but would cost at least double in a shop. It should have a small mirror fitted inside the lid, but removable, and also a tray dividing it into upper and lower compartments. Above all, it should be perfectly watertight when closed.

It should be painted black, with brass drop-bandies, and inch rising-pieces on the bottom.

Two suits of uniform clothing--one of fine blue cloth, the other of good blue serge.

Six white and French pique shirts for shore wear, with collars and ties.

Three woollen shirts { Not necessarily new, but such Three cotton shirts { as he has been wearing at { home or at school.

Three thick vests.

Three thin vests.

Three thick pairs of pants.

Three thin pairs of pants.

Six pairs of socks--three heavy and three light.

Four pairs of working trousers. (Any old ones that he has been wearing.)

Three pairs of blue jean overalls (Dungaree).

Three blue jean blouses.

Three coarse towels.

Several caps. (Old golf or cricketing caps are just the thing.)

A stout, wide-brimmed straw hat for harbour use in the country.

One dozen coloured cotton pocket-handkerchiefs.

One pair of woollen mittens without finger spaces.

Two pairs of suspenders.

A leather belt with a sheath attached for holding an open knife. (Note.--The above should never be worn tightly for the purpose of keeping the trousers up. Such a practice is a most frequent cause of rupture.)

A horsehair mattress, cot size.

A full-sized feather pillow, with three stout slips.

Three coloured cot blankets.

One pair of shore-going boots.

Two pairs of canvas shoes of very best quality.

Two pairs of working boots without any iron in their soles.

One pair of sea-boots reaching to the knee, and either sewn or pegged soles, preferably the latter.

A box of dubbin, also blacking, and a pair of very small shoe-brushes.

A small clothes-brush.

A tooth-brush, hair-brush, and two combs.

A housewife, well supplied with needles and thread (not cotton), and mending wool, scissors, and tweezers.

Three bars of good yellow soap.

One dozen boxes of safety matches.

One block-tin plate.

One block-tin basin.

One block-tin quart pot.

One block-tin pint cup.

Knife, fork, and spoon.

A complete suit of _good_ oilskins.

A pilot coat.

* * * * *

From this it will be seen that much of his old clothing will come in useful; but it should be remembered that he will probably grow rapidly, so that he may not be sent away with clothing that will presently be of no use to him. If the supply be thought meagre, I would suggest that a larger quantity would probably only lead him to waste; the above will be found quite sufficient for all his needs, and he should never miss a single opportunity of having his clothes washed, or, better still, washing them himself. Provide him with some good books, especially a copy each of the Bible, Shakespeare, and some good book of poems; lighter reading at discretion. He must have an epitome of navigation, and a blank book to work examples in, also plenty of writing-paper and envelopes to encourage him in writing home--a duty that lads are prone to shirk. A pair of good binoculars are very useful things to have, but not at all necessary; while a sextant, for the first couple of voyages at any rate, had better be left at home. It usually receives very rough treatment, and its use requires little practice to make one perfect in when the time arrives that it is necessary.

But I would strongly advise, in addition to this outfit, that a boy be provided with the ability to wash a shirt, to sew a button on, and to keep his eating utensils clean. A few lessons in the kitchen before he goes away will save him a world of trouble in this respect, besides saving the parent a good deal of expense. I need say no more on this head, as I have spoken very strongly about it before. Of course the list I have given, although I consider it quite sufficient for a twelve-months' voyage, represents the minimum. Any additions may be made that are considered desirable, but it can be taken for granted that to burden a lad with the care of too much clothing at sea is to invite him to fling some of it away on very small provocation.

Then as to the choice of a ship. It is here impossible to give any written advice. If you have no seafaring friends the matter is difficult. There is really no recognized medium of communication with ship-owners for this purpose. This is why one is so often tempted to reply to the specious advertisements, since they seem to provide a royal road out of the difficulty. A little, very little knowledge of shipping matters would enable them to select from the columns of the Mercantile Navy List a good firm of sailing-ship owners; but assuming that they do not know that much, the next best thing would be to apply to the shipping master in any of our large shipping centres. He would almost certainly forward a list of the best reputed shipping firms. But the services of an old seafaring friend (not naval) would here be of great value, not only in the selection of a suitable firm, but in the little matters of advice to the boy himself. There are many dangers which beset the path of the young sailor, especially in foreign ports, against which a word of warning from the initiated is worth much fine gold. It is not fair to send a gently-nurtured boy to sea unwarned of these things, lest he learn of them by bitter experience, which may cost him a lifetime of fruitless repentance.

Having found a ship and gone through the official routine, it is always wise to try and enlist the sympathies of the skipper and the mate. They have probably heard it all before; but, in spite of that, it is pleasant to be consulted, pleasant to feel that their importance is recognized by any one ashore. And if you cannot do much good, you will at least do no harm by reminding a skipper that you are entrusting him with one of your most precious possessions.

As to the duties of the apprentice, they may be dismissed in a very few words. His first duty is implicit obedience. He has come to sea to learn, and he can only learn by obeying. It is unlikely that he will learn much on his first voyage besides familiarity with his ship, on deck and aloft, by day or by night, and to be of use in assisting to furl sails, etc. And this is no trifle. He should remember, too, that it is not enough to obey in a lazy, sulky manner; he must, if he would ever be worth anything, cultivate smartness, the habit of ready and cheerful obedience. He must not slouch, he must spring; he must not skulk, he must keep in evidence--not merely for the sake of gaining the good word of those in authority over him, but for his own sake, because he is now laying the foundation of his future career as an officer. The lazy, skulking, slouching apprentice becomes the miserable, discontented, and generally worthless seaman, if indeed he ever becomes a seaman at all, which is in the highest degree problematical. Let him never be afraid to ask anybody for information, never ashamed to inquire what he had better do, and especially, emphatically, avoid becoming dirty in his personal habits because he has not on board ship the conveniences of home. Some day, perhaps, our fine sailing ships will provide a bath-room for lads and men, and water to wash with more frequently than once a week; at present it must be admitted that the way of personal cleanliness on board a sailing ship is hard.

And I earnestly hope that the few hints I have been able to give may be of good practical service to many.